has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and was taken to Anchorage Jail. According to Hansen, he persuaded Eklutna Annie to help him winch his pickup free from the mud, although when he began to drive his vehicle free, Eklutna Annie attempted to run. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! The Associated Press contributed to this report. Police have not yet pointed to any known motive in the cases where Ritchie is identified as a suspect. The show Very Scary People profiled Robert Hansen in "The Butcher Baker". Alaska Native Man's Unsolved Murder Part of 'Epidemic' In that case, her father was charged with the killing. Smith is charged with first-degree murder. Anchorage police say 8-month-old baby found safe; father arrested on Delay is always the friend of the defense because it makes it harder for prosecutors to put on their case.. Cellphone records trace Smith to having been at the place where the remains were found within minutes of when the last photo on the SD card was taken, police documents outline. (Image from East High School 1994 yearbook and APD handout). More than three dozenimages and 12 videos were stored on the card, according to the charging documents. TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT ACCUSED OF FATAL SHOOTING IN DORM. About three weeks before Hoffman was killed, Brehmer and Schilmiller began discussing a plan to rape and murder someone in Alaska, according to court documents. die.". An Alaska resident found a stray SD card lying on the street in late September and discovered gruesome content inside: images and video of a woman appearing to be assaulted and murdered. A man accused of killing a woman and recording it on an SD card later found in the street has been indicted in the murder of a second woman in Alaska, authorities announced Thursday. Police had found Henrys remains on the side of a highway on Oct. 2. Indiana man enters not guilty pleas in Alaska murder plot In September 2020, a revised facial reconstruction of the victim was released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Gardner slept upstairs. All rights reserved. Could a bigger prize and more races boost interest? Published: Jul. [5][3], This unidentified decedent became known as Eklutna Annie due to the location in which her body was discovered. According to court documents, Denali Brehmer, 18, confessed to killing Cynthia Hoffman on June 2 at the . Passengers describe learning woman died aboard Alaska cruise ship CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AFTER FORMER ROOMMATE FOUND DEAD, BLUDGEONED INSIDE WALL. McIntosh, who is being tried as an adult in the case, was the gunman, prosecutors say. Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 4:27 PM PST. Time stamps on the images at the hotel showed they were taken in the early hours of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. James Dale Ritchie - Wikipedia (Obituary photo). ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Clayton Andrew Charlie, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a groundskeeper at the Alaska Zoo, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison. Press Release - Anchorage Man Sentenced to Ninty-Nine Years - Alaska Born in Montana but raised in Alaska, Duke married, raised three children and worked jobs including as a teachers aide. The death on Tuesday night triggered a lockdown of the 3,400-passenger ship. Police have only definitively named him as the gunman in one killing, that of Treyveon Thompson on July 29. On Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage police claiming to have found an SD card containing video of a homicide. In response, he chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and tripped her to the ground. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "They are engaging in this behavior where maybe a mature person would say, 'I'd never do that,' but to the people involved this is real stuff to them disrespect. Smiths wife of five years, Stephanie Bissland, told KTUU on Oct. 10 that Smith was a good husband, and she did not believe the allegations against him. She said she was not a police officer in the village at the time of the killing. This years Iditarod field is the smallest in history. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. In September, the death of a man in the middle of a busy intersectionshut down anelementary school and a middle schoolwhile police investigated the killing. The Alaska Public Defender Agencys longtime director, Quinlan Steiner, announced his resignation in April. Smith appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge said he'd be appointed a public defender. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). The millionaires only demand for the payout was either photos or video of the slaying, according to court documents laying out first-degree murder and other charges against six people in the June 2 death of 19-year-old Cynthia Hoffman. In the Lower 48, gangs are more organized and act as outside-the-law businesses, pushing drugs and weapons in defined territories. Prosecutors: Anchorage cold case murder started with gunfire, ended in The memory card found along road shows an Anchorage man assaulting and killing woman. "That's our plan to create a better police presence," McKinnon said. An ongoing Daily News and ProPublica investigation has found that one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement of any kind. He was returning to Anchorage, where he lives, Thim said. All rights reserved. Authorities who reviewed the SD cards contents said they remembered Smith from another investigation and found he was registered in early September to a room at a local hotel which had the same carpet pattern as the one in the video. She championed any child she met that needed a second chance for success, her obituary said. Smith has a truck matching the one in the images, and pings from his cellphone put him along Rainbow Valley Road off the Seward Highway, near where the womans body was found, within minutes of the last time-stamped photos of the body, the affidavit said. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Content Warning: This article contains information that might be difficult for some readers. Market data provided by Factset. They were all going to spend Christmas together the next day. There has been some suggestion by family members out-of-state that he had recently showed signs of mental illness, McKinnon confirmed, but added, "I don't think we have any concrete evidence to support that.". MacDonald denied the request, saying his findings are not an indictment of the Alaska Public Defender Agency nor its attorneys. Thim said Smith was subsequently connected to the remains discovered on the highway through hotel records and cell-phone data. In an unusual order, an Alaska judge has declared a crisis in the states courts, saying that turnover among public defenders is delaying criminal trials and denying justice for victims and defendants alike. The race is on: What to know about the 2023 Iditarod, No injuries in downtown Anchorage commercial building collapse. Ritchie grew up in Anchorage and was a standout athlete at East High School in the mid-1990s before involvement in drugs led to a felony record that derailed his life. The group met to decide how they would divvy up the money. The same year, Ritchie was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for two-year colleges, and graduated from Blue Mountain Community College with an associate degree in science, according to his diploma. [3][4], Eklutna Annie was murdered by serial killer Robert Hansen, most likely in 1979. All rights reserved. "Because of his knowledge other students identify him as a potential source of aid but may have been intimidated by his high level of self confidence," the letter said. But at one of the many stops along the way, a grizzly discovery is made when crew membersfind the widower's body crammed into her own suitcase. Passengers told CBS News that a "murder mystery" theme dinner had been taking place when the incident occurred, and several passengers first confused the crime for a hoax. He was unable to "remember whether she was a prostitute or [a] dancer", although he did state he believed she was from Kodiak, Alaska. Last week, 23-year-old Darla Velador of Anchorage was stabbed to death. Feds: Eagle River nurse prescribed 4 million opiates in 5 years, contributed to two overdose deaths. Alaska's arduous Iditarod kicks off with ceremonial start | KRDO "What we're seeing is that when we ask the community for assistance, they really respond to us," he said. Investigators believe the remains along the highway belonged to the woman killed in the videos and they believe Smith killed her in early Septemberand recorded the photos and videos himself. Market data provided by Factset. The victim has been identified as 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares, from the US state of Utah. The callertold police the memory card was found layingin the middle of the street in the Fairview neighborhood of Anchorage. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll told reporters Abouchuk's family reported her missing in February, but he said she had. 32. She deserves just as much as a search for her people as any other victim, as any other survivor. At 41, he was a bachelor. In May, 19-year-old Brandon Merritt went to a Holiday gas station and exchanged words with another man, according to police. Police detectivesdon't attribute 2016's increase in homicides to any one cause. Alaska woman catfished by Indiana man pleads guilty to murder (The motion argued that the judge misunderstood the limits on public defenders, who do not choose which charges are filed.). "That's what's been fascinating.". Smith remained in jail on Wednesday where he is being held on an outstanding warrant. Sarah Palin in 2007, admonished public defenders for specific professional failures in their handling of Walters case. Judges appoint public defenders for defendants who cant afford to hire their own lawyers. Many questions remain unanswered Wednesday, including the identity of the woman. It's not that clear-cut, said McKinnon. Kristy Manzanares had been travelling with a large group, including her children, according to witnesses. Police were able to identify Smith, a native of South Africa, from the video after recognizing him from a separate, unspecified investigation, in part because of his accent. The . Thursday evening Live Doppler 13 forecast - Feb. 9, 2023. Together, the homicides pose a question for Anchorage: What made 2016 so deadly? Online court records did not list an attorney for Schilmiller. During the initial 911 call, Doubek reportedly had slurred, garbled speech and admitted to shooting his wife, according to the affidavit. The three cases police still considerunsolved are the deaths of Marcus Cosby Jr., 24, Elijah Zeller, 18, and Ian Bobich, 29. Detectives recognized Brian Steven Smith from the graphic videos because Smith is involved in a separate ongoing investigation, said Anchorage Police Department spokesman MJ Thim. Smith had registered a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott the night the video was taken, according to the affidavit. [Here are the most-read Alaska Dispatch News stories of 2016]. Alaska cops charged an Anchorage man with murder Tuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly captured the suspect assaulting and killing a woman whose remains. Another factor no one could have predicted: James Dale Ritchie, who could prove to bethe most prolific killer in AnchoragesinceJoshua Wade, though APD is not ready to call him that. The majority of victims were killed by someone they knew. Alaska teens charged in 'murder for millions' slaying | AP News The woman attempted to fight back, the affidavit said. Witness memories fade, Skidmore said. 2019, on charges of murder in Anchorage, Alaska. An economic thing happening? At the sentencing hearing, the State presented video . Police said they will release the name of the deceased woman once her identity is confirmed and family is notified. In court Wednesday, Smith appeared in handcuffs, wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit. An earlier version of the chart in this story incorrectly stated that it included fatal officer-involved shootings and justifiable homicides. Police continued to investigate and interviewed her two days later after Snapchat video appeared, in which she appeared to confess, the documents say. Doubek slept downstairs. "James recognized the potential issue and has appropriate (sic) adjusted his behavior to make himself more inviting for others to seek help. In that case, her father was charged with the killing. On Sept. 30, police received a report from someone saying they had found an SD card containing several videos of an assault and murder. Smith came to Alaska from South Africa about five years ago and became a naturalized U.S. citizen last month, according to the bail memo. What science tells us about the afterlife. A woman in Alaska was walking her dog when a moose charged her from behind and kicked her in the head, according to shocking video captured by a bystander. Copyright 2021 KTUU. Such delays typically benefit defendants and make it harder for prosecutors to secure convictions, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. Homicide detectives began combing through the 39 images and 12 videos on the card, all documenting a horrifying scene of violence against an unknown woman. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! or redistributed. Missing and murdered indigenous women cold case office - Anchorage, AK But he added that those specific failures were symptoms of broader dysfunction, like public defender and prosecutor jobs going unfilled because of obstacles to recruitment and retention, as well as travel restrictions. Schilmiller admitted to federal agents and Indiana State Police his role in the plot, saying he chose Hoffman as the victim and he told Brehmer to kill her, according to the court documents. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Of the34 homicides in 2016, all but three are considered solved, with police identifying at least a main suspect, according to Sgt. The caller later told officers the card a small memory card used in portable digital devices was discarded on the street at the corner of Fairbanks Street and 13th Avenue in Fairview, near the Gambell Carrs store. For many, it was the year the city's violence hit home,even if they didn't personally know any of the victims. It appeared that Smith recorded them himself, according to the affidavit. At one point, the agencys seven-attorney Bethel office was down to three, he said. Brian . Just two years ago, in 2014, Anchorage ended the year with 13 homicides on the books the lowest in two decades. Last year, Steiner, who was then the agencys director, warned that his attorneys were at their limit and would have to start refusing to handle new cases without a $1 million boost to their $26 million budget. (Loren Holmes / Alaska Dispatch News). That puts APD at a more than 90 percent "clearance" rate for homicide cases. "[13], According to Hansen, he then drove in the direction of Eklutna Lake, with his vehicle eventually becoming stuck on a desolate road as he veered in the direction of a "muddy swamp". Princess Cruises said 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Utah. Schilmiller offered Brehmer nine or more million dollars to carry out the murder and to have photographs and/or videos of the murder sent to him, the documents say. [17], To date, Roxane Easland, Karen Evan, Megan Emerick, and Teresa Davis have been ruled out as being Eklutna Annie. A man charged with murder is accused of fatally stabbing his 23-year-old daughter Friday in Anchorage's Fairview neighborhood. The record in this case should reflect that, as a result of the policy and budget choices made by the legislative and executive branches the people of Alaska must tolerate long delays in the prosecution of the type of crimes charged in this case crimes against women, crimes fueled by substance abuse, crimes against law enforcement officers, crimes against rural Alaskans, the judge wrote. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Thim said the arrest hinged on two aspects of the investigation: the citizen who chose to call police when they found that card, and the coordination between law enforcement agencies handling the separate cases of the videos and the body. A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of a woman aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Alaska, police say, in what has been described as a "domestic disturbance". Bill said that in her experience with the criminal justice system, cases involving white defendants and victims appear to be resolved more quickly than cases involving Alaska Natives. The SD card, reportedly discovered lying in the street in an Anchorage neighborhood, was labeled homicide at midtown Marriott and contained graphic, time-stamped images and video recordings of a man beating and choking a naked woman, according to charging documents. His wife is not implicated in the slaying. In 2011 and 2012, Ritchie was named to the President's List at Blue Mountain Community College in Weyers Cave, in western Virginia, according to school documents obtained by Alaska Dispatch News. Alaska copscharged an Anchorage man with murderTuesday after shocking videos found on a mysterious memory card allegedly capturedthe suspectassaulting and killing a woman whose remains were recently discoverednear a highway. There were no immediate details aboutthe earlierinvestigation involving Smith. "In the fog and the white light, I saw him walking down the alley," Marcy said. A handwritten note laid on a nearby bench with the words Shes havin an affair proof is in the phone. When they were able to determine that this was an actual crime, then the investigation started to quickly speed up.. LOUISIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1989 MURDER CASE: POLICE. Police have not identified the victim, who is said to have been killed during the first week of September. He always committed his murders at night, often around midnight or a short time after. Making the decision to leave, to start the processes for divorce or anything like that, that definitely would escalate the situation and increase lethality for that victim, Pearson said. [1], "Identifying [Eklutna Annie] means that no matter how you lived, whatever circumstances that you are in, that even after death, there is an equality here. Nearly a week prior, on Sept. 30, someone called Anchorage Policeclaiming to have "an SD card containing a video of a homicide," according to a press release from authorities. Anna Bill, a former Mountain Village police officer honored by the Alaska Federation of Natives for her advocacy on behalf of Alaska Native women and children, said the homicide was devastating for the victims family. Or are people just angrier?" [7] He further recollected: "I picked her up downtown and told her I was going to take her to my home". Theres also the question of how an SD card containing images and videos of a slaying, labeled Homicide at midtown Marriott, came to be discarded on a busy Anchorage street. Deputy District Attorney Brittany Dunlop said the process calls for the case to be brought before a grand jury. The case remains open, and numerous efforts have been made to determine the identity of the decedent, including several forensic facial reconstructions of how she may have appeared in life.